I was in Turks and Caicos on a solo trip to celebrate my 32nd birthday in 2019. The goal was to get my toes in a white beach sand, rest my soul and have a peaceful couple of days. Though my first 24 hours were pretty rough, this trip ended up being one of my most memorable travels.
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| Grace Bay Beach |
Turks and Caicos is a British territory island in the Caribbean, close to Haiti and Puerto Rico. They drive right-wheeled cars on the left side of the road and use American Dollars due to the number of American tourists that go there. The island consists of 6 bigger islands (Grand Turks, West Caicos, Providenciales, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, East Caicos and South Caicos) and a bunch of smaller cays. I stayed in Providenciales and took a day trip to explore North and Middle Caicos.
Day 1: Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019
I got to Providenciales at about 2pm and things immediately started to fall apart! Contrary to online reports, there was no airport wifi, no shops to buy a SIM card and I couldn't find any airport taxis. I talked a resort bus driver into taking me to my place and he charged me $23 to drop me off after he had made all his stops. At this point, I was still taking it in stride because the views of the famous turquoise waters from the plane had gotten me pretty excited.
I had rented a car ($50/day and $500 deposit through Ideal Rentals) to be delivered the next day because I planned on having a slow first day - snorkel and dinner. But even this was a mistake as I had underestimated difficulty with finding taxis. I also couldn't walk anywhere because I had intentionally booked a place in a somewhat isolated area, and I didn't want to be caught out without phone service. Before I knew it, my snorkel and dinner evening turned into a beef jerky (from home) and cable tv evening.
On the plus side, my $120/night Airbnb, which I thought was a guest house, turned out to be a boutique $300/night hotel comprising of tiny homes - apparently, they post a few of them on Airbnb at a discounted rate when business is slow and I happened to stumble on one.
My tiny home was surrounded by little trees and it felt nice to just sit there in nature and forget about unfortunate start.
Day 2: Thursday, January 24th, 2019
The next day, I got my rental then went to Graceway IGA for a SIM card. I paid $5 for the SIM and $20 for 1.5gigabytes of data and "some call and text." I then made a quick stop at the parts of Grace Bay Beach by Somewhere Cafe but it had a ton of dead seaweed and the island is known for clean beaches so I left to seek greener pastures. Somewhere Cafe is a Tex-Mex restaurant and lounge in Coral Gardens Resorts. It’s rumored to be good and that’s where I had planned on having dinner the night before but I never got around to visiting so I can’t tell.
I got to Turks and Caicos National Museum to discover it's a tiny room with pictures on the wall and $10 to get in. I left, heartbroken. Went to Anna's Gallery and discovered it was full of multiple paintings of the horizon across Grace Bay beach, a lot of jewelry, some soap, sea salts and Conch shells. I left, again.
I then went to Big Blue to rent a kayak and paddle to Littler Water Cay (Iguana Island) and Mangrove Cay and guess what? Too windy to kayak so they weren't renting out kayaks that day! My eyes welled up with tears as I walked out. This trip was turning out to be a disaster and I was ready to go back home. I decided to go to Flamingo Cafe for a drink and that's why my luck turned for the better.
The restaurant has open access to Grace Bay Beach so you really don't need to eat there or buy a drink if you don't want to but it's the polite thing to do. There are also a few local vendors there who sell Conch shells, hand made purses, jewelry etc.
It turned out to be my favorite Grace Beach spot. It was clean, not crowded, the water was clear, beach sand was white, and though it was cloudy at times, the sunset was still beautiful. I was finally content.
Per usual, I made a few friends. One was a funny guy, Captain Jack, who came to offer me some Marijuana to purchase. I told him I didn't imbibe and he left me with his catchphrase "I don't drink and drive, I smoke and fly." I also made friends with a group, Dani, Mircea and Jane. Turned out Mircea had my exact itinerary for the next day so we agreed to to together.
For dinner, I met up with another new friend I had made at the beach and we had Blackened and Fried Grouper Tacos at CocoVan (the food truck for Coco Bistro, smaller menu, same food, half the price). 2 tacos cost $19, and whether or not it was worth it remains to be decided.
I then met up with Mircea, Dani and Jane at Thursday Fish Fry and had so much fun. The Fish Fry is a weekly community event with stalls for local food, drinks, arts and crafts, and live music. It basically feels like big, fun cookout. Admission is free but it gets crowded so it’s best to get there early to find good parking.
Day 3: Friday, January 25th, 2019
I picked up Mircea and we headed to the TCI ferry to make the 30min trek to North Caicos. The Ferry costs $25 each way and you need to rent a car that will be delivered when you arrive because there are no taxis over there. Insurance included, it is $80 for a small car and $100 for a jeep. We got talked into getting a jeep "to be safe because the roads are rough" but we were totally upsold, you'll be fine in a small car. The ferry was fun though.
North Caicos and Middle Caicos are 2 independent islands connected by a small bridge. It is a straight drive that takes less than an hour from one end to the next. However, there is a lot to see and the last ferry back to Providenciales leaves at 5:30 so the safest bet is to drive all the way to the end of Middle Caicos then make your stops on your way back so you have a good grasp of time. There's also so much more to see and do in Middle Caicos so this ensures that you at least see the big attractions. The car rental company gives you a map that marks all the attractions.
My favorite stop was Bambara Beach. It had crystal clear waters that went as far as the eye could see and fun-colored, thatch-roofed little houses for changing clothes.
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| Bambara Beach |
We also had a lot of fun at Juniper Hole as I tried to take photos of Mircea on the rocks to make it look like he had freeclimbed a very high rock. Juniper Hole is a large, open-faced cave in the northern part of Middle Caicos.
At Mudjin Harbor, I asked Mircea to take me a slow-motion video and had a stank attitude when a lady innocently video bummed me. It was all so funny! Mudjin Harbor has 2 caves. The smaller one, were we took the video follows a stone path on top of the cliffs and the path turns into stairs that take you into the cave.
Indian Cave was really cool too. You can stay down and enjoy the views or also climb up to the top and look down from the opening.
There is an abandoned airstrip in Middle Caicos that's also fun for faffing around but there's literally nothing to do there so if you are short on time, feel free to skip it. I did cartwheels and took photos.
Our last stop was at Horse Stable Beach in North Caicos. We missed the Conch Farm, had difficulty finding the Flamingo Lookout (it took 3 tries to find it and when we did, they were so, so, far away that we could only make out pink dots in the distant) and didn't have time to see the plantation. There are other things to do and see so if you are not spending the night there, I highly recommend looking up the attractions on the Turks and Caicos website so you can have a rough idea of what you would like to do even before you get to North Caicos.
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| Horse Stable Beach |
Overall, this was my favorite day! Mircea was a trip and such great company plus we kept running into people from the ferry at random spots. Be warned, the mosquitoes here are vicious. Bring 2 cans of the strongest repellants you can think of. I don’t remember where this was in Middle Caicos but I remember we both had to run to the car because mosquitoes were eating us alive!
We got back to Providenciales, freshened up then I met up with them (Mircea, Dani and Jane) at Turks Kebab for dinner - my favorite meal on the island! Turks Kebab a little hole in the wall with authentic Turkish and Greek food. We then took a walk to the strip and hung out till about midnight. I don’t drink beer but I always sample a local bottle whenever I travel for the hell of it and the funny writing on this one made it worth it!
If you want a party, check out Sand Bar and Danny Buoys. You can go downtown but locals don't recommend it because it's allegedly not always safe for tourists.
Day 4: Saturday, January 26th, 2019
I finally got to go snorkeling at Smiths Reef. Mircea had a great time, I tried to stay alive and did a great job at it. Smiths Reef comprises of several reef systems and coral heads. It's also the easiest to get to on the island. When we were done, I took Mircea to the airport, went home for a nap and resumed my solo adventures.
Chalk Sound is a natural lagoon that features shallow and brilliant turquoise waters with hundreds of small rocky islands. Apparently, the water is clean, algae-free and the turquoise hues are created by refraction of sunlight off the fine limestone sand and particles of the area.
On my way home, I drove 15mins past my place to make a quick stop at Long Bay Beach. It is not suited for swimming due to the winds however, that makes it the most ideal place for jet skiing, kite boarding and windsurfing.
For dinner, I went to Da Conch Shack to have conch as for my last meal. While I think it might be overpriced (like all restaurants on the island), there sure is something about having dinner with your toes in the sand, cocktail in had and watching waves crash into one another. The photo doesn’t capture it but they have tables in the sand, facing the ocean. Truly blissful.
This trip started off a disaster but ended on a fulfilled and peaceful note. I had a better time than I imagined I would and I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel as much as I have.
Day 5: Sunday, January 27th, 2019... MY 32ND BIRTHDAY!!!
I had a super early flight with a 3hr connection in Miami. To make the most of the day, I made a public post on Girls Love Travel to see if anyone would like to have a birthday brunch with me and Olga agreed. She met me at Eating House then gave me an unsolicited ride to the airport. She was sweet, a lot of fun and we have kept in touch online. The community of travelers I have found online never ceases to amaze me.
I then flew home and set stuff out as my friends came over to celebrate my birthday with me. I slept in my bed that night with a heart full of love and gratitude.
*Rumor has it that Somewhere Cafe and Mis Amigos have good food. I had them both on my list and never made it but it's worth looking up to see if you would like to go.